Today I entered my apartment around 10 am and there were workmen inside. They're very friendly. Every now and again they show up and do something. Who knows what. It looked electrical. I have acquired some furniture - desk, couch, shelving, drawers and an office chair. It was quite an adventure getting it all. First I went to the huge local furniture store which was selling luxury suites suitable for millionaires. So I defaulted to IKEA, but how to get there. Of course no-one has heard of it because the pronunciation is different in Chinese. (Note, why can't the Chinese say IKEA?) Got numerous directions involving complicated mandarin symbols. Once I figured out the general area I got on a bus and hoped for the best. After about 45 minutes I got off at the wrong stop and walked in the wrong direction. Made my way to the Metro line and went one stop in the (hopefully) right direction. No IKEA. Last resort - talk to the driver of the small motorcycle taxi and try to explain where I want to go - "Big blue store - buy furniture - very close to here - can you take me? How much?" He took me straight there for $1. Complimented me on my Chinese and taught me how to pronounce IKEA: "Eejiya". So I had a Swedish lunch and selected my furniture. Cost around $400. They charge $6 for delivery. Quite a deal considering I live in the 7th floor of a building that's identical to about 20 others nearby.
When I told the school about all of this I got good news and bad news. The bad news was that they want me to pay three months rent up front. The good news was that they will deduct the cost of the furniture from the rent.
Today the sun is out again. It was still cold as I was walking to school. As I walked by the local 'convenient store' I passed a young woman tending what looked like a lemonade stand. She called me over. It was warm milk for about 50 cents. She even spoke some English - rare bonus around this neighbourhood. I'll post photos later of my new digs.
I'm wading my way through "Gone with the Wind". Never read it before. Its very well written and paints a richly textured canvas of the deep South - a way of life at once compelling and shocking; now, quite literally, gone with the wind. I don't really like any of the characters except Melanie, but they certainly are interesting. The US has so completely failed to come to terms with its history in the present day that they can't see the confederate flag as representing anything beyond slavery. When Sherman's army took Atlanta it was the end of an enormous part of American history. Of course it was a flawed society. Which society is not flawed in some way? Lincoln himself certainly had buckets of blood on his hands. Presently I'm investigating Chinese history. Its not the job of the historian to shape the past and to obscure the dirty parts. I just want to know what happened, because there is no hope of changing the past - however, we can learn from it if we look at it clearly.
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